# When the molemen invaded South America **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046 "2017-06-28T11:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/1 "2017-06-28T11:34:19Z")
Luckily, the brave unsung paleoindians repelled [the attack](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/03/28/paleoburrows-south-america/#.WVOFKCspXTk), saving mankind. For now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/2 "2017-06-28T12:43:23Z")
Your title made me think of this golden oldie: [https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ\_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=cXDXeTL7Jyiy2M:&spf=1498653415964](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=cXDXeTL7Jyiy2M:&spf=1498653415964) [https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ\_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=--ECcsHga6RS1M:&spf=1498653415967](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=--ECcsHga6RS1M:&spf=1498653415967) [https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ\_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=HR8Rs\_0eWVup6M:&spf=1498653415970](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=HR8Rs_0eWVup6M:&spf=1498653415970) (they look as if they MIGHT have been able to dig those tunnels, with those claws) Or maybe this, although those munchkins don’t look up to the task, and unlikely to make tunnels that big: [https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ\_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=IYCqkDB8ychzpM:&spf=1498653415973](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+mole+people&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0nO-Bx-DUAhUB5CYKHdJLAWgQ_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=IYCqkDB8ychzpM:&spf=1498653415973) This guy (and especially his minions) seem a better bet: [https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ\_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=v\_\_EQiVUXCgDwM:&spf=1498653618524](https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=v__EQiVUXCgDwM:&spf=1498653618524) [https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ\_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=f4IRDoLnaCKFSM:&spf=1498653618527](https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=f4IRDoLnaCKFSM:&spf=1498653618527) [https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ\_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=bVcChsUL2U9ylM:&spf=1498653618530](https://www.google.com/search?q=Fantastic+Four+The+Mole+Man&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKtbPjx-DUAhUGwiYKHS-FCRcQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=bVcChsUL2U9ylM:&spf=1498653618530) …and he seems to be the inspiration for this dude: [https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Underminer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2xaOIyODUAhUIOSYKHS8rDXcQ\_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=8XjUz1m2cpwPnM:&spf=1498653695515](https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Underminer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2xaOIyODUAhUIOSYKHS8rDXcQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=8XjUz1m2cpwPnM:&spf=1498653695515) [https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Underminer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2xaOIyODUAhUIOSYKHS8rDXcQ\_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=rsSquOCuA1HmgM:&spf=1498653695518](https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Underminer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2xaOIyODUAhUIOSYKHS8rDXcQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=rsSquOCuA1HmgM:&spf=1498653695518) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/3 "2017-06-28T12:54:38Z")
Now he is a [Good Guy.](https://joshreads.com/images/17/05/i170530spidey.png) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/4 "2017-06-28T13:09:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Now he is a [Good Guy.](https://joshreads.com/images/17/05/i170530spidey.png) That’s a waste! Without his Subterranean Empire and his Minions of All Sizes he’s just a big-nosed guy in 3D glasses with a Beatles haircut. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/5 "2017-06-28T13:44:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That’s a waste! Without his Subterranean Empire and his Minions of All Sizes he’s just a big-nosed guy in 3D glasses with a Beatles haircut. I guess that is why he is now a Good Guy. But never fear, Spiderman will screw this up, too. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/6 "2017-06-28T13:46:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That’s a waste! Without his Subterranean Empire and his Minions of All Sizes he’s just a big-nosed guy in 3D glasses with a Beatles haircut. He was [almost](https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2754504.html) big-nosed, 3D-glasse’d, mop-topped Uncle [del]Hans Moleman[/del] Mole Man to Peter Parker. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/7 "2017-06-28T13:58:14Z")
Very cool science stuff. I wonder if any humans saw the Giant Ground Sloths, and if so, I wonder if any surviving myths are related to it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/8 "2017-06-28T14:11:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > He was [almost](https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2754504.html) big-nosed, 3D-glasse’d, mop-topped Uncle [del]Hans Moleman[/del] Mole Man to Peter Parker. Aunt May has some strange allergy to caves, so things didn’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/9 "2017-06-28T14:30:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Very cool science stuff. I wonder if any humans saw the Giant Ground Sloths, and if so, I wonder if any surviving myths are related to it. I am of the (unproven and not uncontested) opinion that humans were a primary cause of the Holocene megafaunal extinctions in the New World, so I suspect that not only did humans see them, but that humans with pointy sticks are the last thing many giant ground sloths saw. I am very, very, very skeptical of the idea that any oral traditions could last 12,000 years or more. Over that period of time, there would be few if any words even recognizable from the original language(s) spoken by those that encountered the ground sloths and glyptodonts and mammoths and such. [Look at](http://www.archaeology.org/exclusives/articles/1302-proto-indo-european-schleichers-fable) what proto-Indo-European may have been like only 6,000 years ago. Imagine a game of [telephone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers) whispered across 90-ish generations and several languages–I don’t think it too plausible for any signal to be left in the noise, and the stories to disappear entirely. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/10 "2017-06-28T14:41:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I am very, very, very skeptical of the idea that any oral traditions could last 12,000 years or more. Over that period of time, there would be few if any words even recognizable from the original language(s) spoken by those that encountered the ground sloths and glyptodonts and mammoths and such. Not 12,000 years ago, I grant you, but Richard’s “Will no one rid me of this troublesome Priest?” weren’t spoken in English. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/11 "2017-06-28T14:54:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Not 12,000 years ago, I grant you, but Richard’s “Will no one rid me of this troublesome Priest?” weren’t spoken in English. Um, yeah? It was also written down. How accurate do you think the quote would be if it were passed along orally and only orally for a few hundred years? Or if it would still be remembered at all? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/12 "2017-06-28T15:09:32Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Um, yeah? It was also written down. How accurate do you think the quote would be if it were passed along orally and only orally for a few hundred years? Or if it would still be remembered at all? Well, hell. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/13 "2017-06-28T19:00:26Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Very cool science stuff. I wonder if any humans saw the Giant Ground Sloths, and if so, I wonder if any surviving myths are related to it. It’s pretty much certain that humans interacted with ground sloths. but almost no chance of surviving myths, since even the remnant island species went extinct 4000 years ago. The mainland species were all lost more than 10,000 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/14 "2017-06-29T00:09:17Z")
“[There is no escape from the fortress of the moles!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO2t6LO9oLI&feature=youtu.be&t=141)” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/15 "2017-06-29T02:25:23Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Very cool science stuff. I wonder if any humans saw the Giant Ground Sloths, and if so, I wonder if any surviving myths are related to it. Clan of the Cave Sloth? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/16 "2017-06-29T07:59:30Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > It’s pretty much certain that humans interacted with ground sloths. but almost no chance of surviving myths, since even the remnant island species went extinct 4000 years ago. The mainland species were all lost more than 10,000 years ago. “Interacted”? “[Exterminated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction_event#South_America)” would be more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/17 "2017-06-29T19:56:00Z")
I’m quite the [mole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_sauce) man, myself. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/18 "2017-06-29T21:49:53Z")
… I did not speak out because I was not South American When the molemen invaded Central America… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/19 "2017-06-29T22:00:52Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > … I did not speak out because I was not South American > > When the molemen invaded Central America… I won’t speak of it when they invade Levy, because it is the cesspool of the world, and the armpit of the South. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-molemen-invaded-south-america/790046/20 "2017-06-30T16:02:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Very cool science stuff. I wonder if any humans saw the Giant Ground Sloths, and if so, I wonder if any surviving myths are related to it. It sure is! I love reading about stuff like this. Fascinating!